In September 2003, Channel 4 broadcast ZigZag TV Production's, program called The Darker Side of Stage Hypnosis. Many comments have been made and we post some here.

WHAT PEOPLE SAID AFTER SEEING THE TV PROGRAMME.

Very one-sided.

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I thought your part of the program looked great but was set in a rather negative context which tends to be the way these sorts of programs are done. They identify one or two rotten apples and generalise to everybody. And introduce rather tenuous cause and effect arguments.

Still it looked like everybody on your Stage Hypnosis course enjoyed themselves.

M Breen

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Perception is Reality.

The program was aiming to support the motion that “Stage Hypnotism is dangerous” – therefore the data collected and presented would need to support this view. The title of the program said it all! Where was the balance?

Hypnosis – like photography – is a technology. You can pick it up quickly and start using it in different ways. How you use it is a matter of values, ethics and judgment. Do you want to photograph colourful flowers, the furthest star in the galaxy or some depraved act involving an animal? Our behaviour reflects our values.

I’m all for ethical, entertaining stage hypnosis – but this program didn’t help stage hypnosis or, through association, other applications of hypnosis, e.g. hypnotherapy . This is no reflection on Phillip’s training and all our hard work simply there was an agenda at work over which we had no control.

As I said, perception is reality and people who had a negative view of hypnosis, especially stage hypnosis will use it to confirm their world-view. Neutral people may or may not have been swayed; and those who view it positively will

The irony is we all have immensely powerful minds of which we use only a tiny proportion – and we didn’t get the manual on how it works, and how best to use it. When’s TV program about “Choosing to use your mind for a change” coming out??

Good luck with your work.

Tony

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Hi

What a show! Who knew if you relax, you may die?

TV is there for people to escape from reality, and boy did they escape. I just think it would have been nice if Channel 4 had rather educated the public and not scared them. So we have done a course for a low price…I must say for one, I have learned a lot from Phillip and would do it again any day! I also think that the reason why they only showed less than 5min of our show, is cause it was a proper, good fun and innocent STAGE HYPNOSIS SHOW!

This TV program was so much motivation for me, cause now I can proof almost every person that I know wrong. I am planning to do a 3 day long Stage Hypnosis show in South Africa, so if any of you Stage Hypnotists out there want to do a double act with me in South Africa, your welcome, just let me know.

Frederik Botha

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You and your grads came out of the programme very well, considering the "frame" the entire subject of stage hypnotism was put into. I commend you for putting it all together so quickly and so professionally. As you say: if you do something with integrity and a positive intention, then you can feel justly proud of the outcome.

I am a broadcast journalist, having worked for the BBC and ITN, and I am not at all surprised that they filmed you for 20 hours and only showed five minutes or so. That's common practice in TV land. 

I believe, unfortunately, that a programme all about stage hypnosis would never have been commissioned if it was to show what I believe is the "real truth" about stage hypnosis. The real truth is that stage hypnosis is completely safe, non-mystical, and in most cases is good entertainment. Stage hypnosis is not dangerous. There is no evidence, anywhere, to support this claim. Only hearsay. But that doesn't make good telly, sadly! There's no story, no angle, unless it's "bad". Generally, newspapers and television news are less interested in finding the real truth, as they are in finding angles and negative stories. No papers would ever be sold if they only reported good news!!

Clearly, Zig Zag started this project with a purpose to show "the dark side" rather than investigate the subject with an unbiased approach and with integrity. It was a shoddy programme in my opinion. Journalistically, it was lazy, and uncovered nothing new and lacked substance.

All the negative stories reported in the programme, eg Sharon Taburn and the disgusting Alex Leroy, are old stories that have been on various programmes before. There is no evidence to support any of them, but this was casually and shamefully glossed over by the programme makers who used filming techniques, lighting, music and their script to manipulate the audience into concluding that stage hypnotism is dangerous. In fact, Alex Leroy is well-known in TV circles for being a self-publicist. He exposed himself on a Kilroy programme, and when I worked at the BBC, management issued a memo banning him from appearing in any programmes and warning programme-makers to steer clear.

Regarding the title of the programme: - I remember Paul McKenna talking about the Channel 4 programme, "The Word", where he was about to perform on live TV, but was introduced by the floor manager who said: "This is Paul McKenna and he's going to hypnotise you in a moment, so I hope you're wearing clean underwear!!" Nobody volunteered until Paul positively reframed the experience, saying "hypnosis makes you better dancers!!". Paul also said he never takes part in talk shows like Kilroy and Trisha, because often the very title of the programme is something like "the dangers of hypnotism" which presupposes negativity. Sadly, "the dark side" is about as negative and biased a title they could have come up with!

I attended Paul McKenna's high court trial and was absolutely fascinated by some of the ridiculous views that so-called "eminent" and "expert" psychiatrists were saying. In particular, Dr Gruzelier, who was featured in the programme. In fact, I distinctly remember the judge and entire courtroom in fits of laughter at something he said which was so absurd.

In contrast, Paul's witness, Graham Wagstaff, was "an incredibly impressive witness" according to the judge. Wagstaff believes, as do I and the majority of present-day stage hypnotists, that stage hypnosis works through social compliance. In fact there is a stage hypnotist called Martin Taylor, who does the whole show without an induction, because he tells the audience at the start of the show that hypnosis doesn't exist. But if it doesn't exist, how can it be dangerous?! This is the point the programme makers shamefully chose to ignore. Wagstaff was featured in the programme, but his intelligent views on stage hypnosis were not heard on this programme for more than a few seconds.

So to sum up, I think you came out of the programme very well, and I thought your graduates did a very impressive job considering such a short training. Let's hope that at some point soon, a broadcaster will choose to investigate what stage hypnosis is REALLY about, rather than continuing to mislead and alarm the public unnecessarily.

Very best wishes, A TV Presenter

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OTHER COMMENTS ARE WELCOME

CALL Phillip Holt NOW on 07973178602 for further details.

EMAIL stage@nlpnow.co.uk click on email to send